Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Arrange the sardines in the single layer in a baking dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for about eight minutes until just cooked.

Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.

Pulse the sardines in a food processor, or mash them with a fork, along with the shallots, spring onions, chilli powder, butter and olive oil, until relatively smooth but still a bit chunky. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and taste, adjusting the seasoning to your liking. Scrape the mixture into a small bowl and chill for at least eight hours, or overnight.

Let it come back to room temperature before serving.

Storage: The pate can be kept in the refrigerator for up to three days, or frozen for up to one month.

Grilled Sardines with quinoa salad and sauce nantua

12 filleted sardines

Salt and pepper to taste

2tbs olive oil

For the salad:

50g quinoa

2tsp finely chopped onion

2tsp finely chopped mixed red and green pepper

100ml water

2tsp butter

1tsp finely chopped chives

Salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:

(Makes about four cups of sauce)

1/2 cup, dry white wine or dry vermouth

2 tbs minced shallots (or substitute white onion)

3/4 stick unsalted butter

7tbs flour (1/2 cup less 1tbs if that’s easier to measure)

2 cups, fish fumet (fish broth) or 240ml of clam broth

1 cup milk (or substitute half-and-half for a richer sauce)

1 cup heavy or whipping cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Chopped fresh parsley to garnish

After cleaning the sardines, dry them with a kitchen towel and season with salt and pepper. Rub olive oil on to the fish and fry until fully cooked.

For the salad, boil the quinoa in water and salt for 7 minutes. Strain and allow to cool. Fry onions and peppers in butter until translucent. Mix the onions, peppers, chives and the quinoa together and season with salt and pepper. Place in refrigerator to cool.

Serve by placing vegetables in the middle of the plate, top with quinoa salad and balance the sardines on the salad. Spoon the heated sauce over half the fish and serve.

Natal curried sardines

1kg fresh sardines gutted and scaled

150g onion finely chopped

120ml sunflower oil

350g grated tomato

100ml fish stock/water

5 green chillies

10ml lemon juice

50g tamarind soaked in water and drained

60g crushed garlic

20g crushed ginger

5g fenugreek powder

20g fenugreek seeds

15g jeera powder

10g dhania powder

50ml soya sauce

15g turmeric powder

80g mixed fish Masala

20g fresh curry leaves

15 sprigs of fresh dhania

Heat oil, add the onions and fenugreek seeds and cook until translucent.

Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, jeera and dhania powder and cook until fragrant.

Add fish masala and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add stock/water if required. Add the tomato, and cook until a sauce consistency is achieved.

Pour in the lemon juice, soya and tamarind paste and simmer for 5 minutes.

Top the sauce with the sardines and the curry leaves and cook for 8 minutes. Season with salt.

Finish curry with the fenugreek powder and the coriander. - The Mercury

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